Falling into You

Book 3: Falling Stars Series

by A.L. Jackson

Genres: Family Life; Sagas; Contemporary Romance; Romantic Suspense; Second Chance Romance

Synopsis

Richard Ramsey is the guitarist for the world's hottest newband. Gifted. Charismatic. Hot as sin.
Lend your ear, and he'll steal your heart. Nah, you can't have his considering he left it in his hometown years ago.

He knows better than going back. But it's his younger sister's wedding, and there's no way he can say no to that.

He should have known she would be there, invading his senses and making him thirst and hunger for what he wants most.

Violet Marin hates him for what he's done. He left her empty-handed with their wreckage strewn all around. She's picked up the pieces and is living her life the best way that she can.

But their connection is fierce. Their attraction unending. It only takes one glance for their worlds to collide. One touch to set them on fire.

But she doesn't know the dark secrets he keeps. If he had understood the true price of fame, he would have known he'd sold his soul and this debt is something he cannot repay.Letting her go is impossible, but will loving her cost it all?

A captivating contemporary romance in the Falling Stars series from NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author, A.L. Jackson . .

Release date: September 18, 2020

Publisher: A.L. Jackson Books Inc.

Print pages: 455

Reader says this book is...: emotionally riveting (1) happily ever after (1) heart touching (1) heartwarming (1) strong chemistry (1) strong heroine (1) suspenseful (1) swoon-worthy (1) tearjerker (1) unputdownable (1)

Sample

 

prologue

Violet

 

I edged down the narrow staircase that led to the kitchen below. Shadows danced across the walls and held the air in the steady peace of the night. A breeze blew through the valley and billowed through the trees. The hum of it softly battered at the walls.

Within the old house, the silence was heavy and dense. As heavy and dense as my heart that thundered at a ragged beat.

I inched farther.

Carefully.

Recklessly.

There was no longer anything I could do to stop the draw of the quiet chaos that waited in the darkened room below.

When I made it to the landing, my breath hitched with the gust of energy that suddenly lashed and whipped through the stilled disorder.

The man a storm where he sat like a stone fortress at the small kitchen table.

Protective and fierce.

His big body bristled with a rage that seemed to be waitin’ for permission to be unleashed.

A wanderer who’d come home.

Did it make me a fool for wanting to remind him that this was where he belonged? That it was right for him to be adored? That he deserved to be loved?

I stepped deeper into the dancing shadows at the base of the stairs.

I knew when he felt me.

When his spine stiffened and his stony jaw clenched.

He slowly pushed to his full, towering height.

The man a dark avenger.

“Violet.” My name rumbled through the air like rolling thunder. “What are you doing down here?”

Fear tumbled through my belly when I saw the lust flare in his eyes.

The greed and possession that curled his hands into fists.

But I would no longer live my life running from what I wanted most.

I could live in fear of what was to come, or I could live my life to its fullest, and I knew I wanted to live like a flower beneath the sun in full bloom.

I lifted my chin when I released the words, “I just need to know one thing right now, Richard Ramsey. Tell me it’s true. Tell me you still love me because I’m done pretending like I don’t need you.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have given him that trust.

Maybe I shouldn’t have given him the chance to lie.

Maybe I should have known I would regret it all over again when I saw the guilt flash across his stunning face.

But I was finished running.

So, I stepped off the cliff I’d been teetering on for the last six years, straight into a free fall, and prayed he’d be there to catch me at the end…

 

 

one

Richard

 

I’d heard it said the thing about running from your past is it always catches up to you.

I’d heard it said that the demons of every mistake you’d ever made were constantly hunting you from the sidelines. Lurking in the darkness where they waited for the perfect time to attack, salivating at the chance to sink in their teeth.

A dark destiny ready to devour.

And sometimes? Sometimes they messed with the wrong damned person.

Someone who had nothing left to lose and only one sacrifice left to give.

Atonement and retribution their one purpose.

Doing a little hunting of my own, I blew out the back door of the banquet room. It dumped me in a long hall lined with doors. Antique wall lamps cast a yellowed glow through the narrow space.

My attention jerked from one direction to the other.

Searching through the shadows that filled the corridor of the age-old hotel.

Swore I’d seen something.

Someone.

Someone who didn’t belong.

That prickly feeling you got when something was amiss.

Wickedness underfoot.

Felt it slithering across my flesh and sinking into my bones.

The sounds of the party echoed through the wall. Carefree laughter, easy conversation, and the joy of the celebration.

What I should be doing was enjoying it with my family and friends.

With my band.

But no—I’d caught a feeling that I couldn’t ignore.

Heart raging in my chest. This thunder that howled and ravaged like a beast.

I swore I saw a shadow dip out at the far end of the hall.

That was right when the door I’d just came out of burst open behind me and my future brother-in-law, Royce, came fuming through it.

“What’s going on?” he growled. Dude was nothing but intimidation. Covered in tats and wearing one of those fitted suits that made him look like the reaper had come to collect and you were gonna pay. I darted in the direction of where I was sure the shape had gone. Voice filled with the intimation of the feeling I’d gotten, I shouted over my shoulder, “Someone’s here who shouldn’t be.”

“Shit,” Royce wheezed, right behind me.

Our feet pounded the floor, a vibration proclaiming destruction was on its way.

“This way. Think he slipped out the back exit,” I shouted.

“Who?” Royce was right at my side, venom in the words, dude feeding off the rage I was throwing.

“Don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

Desperation clawed through my chest as I raced down the hall, took the left, and pushed out into the night and into the dingy alley at the back of the old building.

My gaze jumped both directions, trying to catch onto a hunch.

To the intuition that had sent me hunting in the first place.

“This way.” My head jerked to the left, and we both took off in that direction.

A heavy fog hung low in the darkened sky, and silvered rays slanted through the night from the muted lights flickering from the hotel.

Vengeance pulsed in my veins, and I gave myself over to the fight.

To the instinct to protect.

I rounded the end of the building just in time to catch sight of a burly shadow in the distance. Barely visible through the haze.

“Right there.” I pointed at the lumbering figure that blazed a path down the side of the building.

“See him. Don’t let him split.”

“Not a fuckin’ chance,” I gritted, increasing pace as that feeling consumed me. Overwhelming in its pull.

I couldn’t mess this up. Couldn’t stumble. Couldn’t stop.

We gained on him. Getting closer and closer. Close enough that I could taste the vileness that throbbed and slashed through the air as he attempted to flee like a pussy bitch.

Under the haze of dim lights, we could see the shape bolt across the next street up that was pretty much deserted.

Wasn’t much of a surprise for a town this size at this time of night. Place was mostly shut down except for the few bars and restaurants that remained open.

“He’s going right. Asshole is heading for the park.” Royce’s words were harsh. His breaths panted from his lungs.

Without slowing, I raced across the street, and my heart that was already beating a motherfucking drum jumped into my throat when a car came out of nowhere, making a quick right from the intersecting street.

“Richard,” Royce shouted as the headlights bared down on me.

Tires screeched and a horn blared.

Panic jolting through my being, my hands shot out like that was gonna make a lick of difference, planting on the hood just when the car came skidding to a stop.

“What the hell?” the driver shouted, honking the horn again.

“Holy shit,” raked from my screaming lungs, the air coming in jagged heaves when I realized I’d been one distracted driver away from being toast.

My fault.

But the entirety of this load of bullshit was, wasn’t it? I needed not to forget that.

Didn’t give myself time to process or apologize, adrenaline the driving force as I shoved off the car and redoubled my efforts.

Frantic.

Desperate to get to whoever this bastard was who had the balls to show up here.

In my hometown.

On the night of my sister’s engagement party.

Fact that it was undoubtedly not a coincidence only heated my blood another hundred degrees.

Once I hit the opposite sidewalk, Royce was once again right there, taking up my back.

My attention skated through the gloom. Chasing down vapor.

I rounded the building at the corner, glancing both ways before I raced for the park that sat sleeping on the other side of the street and took up an entire city block.

Lush trees grew up like a living hedge of protection, and playgrounds sat at all four corners. Fields for ballgames were in the middle.

In the daylight, it would be filled with children and laughter.

Families spending time together.

This place meant for everything right.

But in the lapping darkness, it reeked of depravity.

Ominous whispers and foreboding howls.

I dove right into the middle of it.

Footsteps pounded just behind and to my right. “You see him?” Royce panted.

“No. Go right. I’ll take the left.”

He ducked out, flying through a deserted playground while I drove deeper toward the fields. Where it would be most secluded.

A frenzy burned inside. I had to find him.

My eyes searched.

My heart manic.

Felt like I fucking looked for days.

For a year.

Finally, I came to a plodding stop when I saw Royce coming out of a row of bushes that lined one of the fields.

“You catch sight of him?” I called, so out of breath I was halfway to bending in two.

Royce’s expression was grim.

“Fucker’s dust, man. Couldn’t even pick up a trace.”

“Damn it,” I spat at the ground.

I tipped my face toward the night sky and inhaled a couple of long, cleansing breaths, planting my hands on my hips like it might stop me from coming undone.

Royce approached. “You get a look at his face?”

My lips pressed into a thin line. “Nope. Saw about the same thing as you.”

His brow twisted in speculation. “Then how did you know someone was at the party?”

“Just…felt it.”

He frowned. “You felt it?”

“Yup.”

“You working off some psychic shit now?”

I tossed him a scowl. “Nope. Just working off my gut.”

And my gut had every single hair on my body lifting on edge.

Awareness tripping my consciousness into high alert. Royce tipped his attention to the side, contemplating before he looked back at me, the words quieted and concealed, like we might have an audience standing around us when we were surrounded by the stifling silence.

 “Maybe…maybe you’re just gettin’ paranoid, man.”

My head shook. “No. Asshole ran. Proof enough for me.”

His nod was glum because he knew it, too. “Honest, this is about the last thing I want to hear at my engagement party.”

“Not what I wanted to hear, either.” Terror ridged my spine, and I gulped before I forced myself to speak. “Think someone is picking up a trail.”

“Or maybe they’re just sniffing around. With the trial coming up, assholes are going to be out in full force, looking for a weakness. Fucker was most likely here for Emily or me, not you.”

His teeth ground when he said it, his dark stare making another pass through the vacancy, aching for the kill.

No question, the guy would give it all for my sister.

Royce Reed? He’d been the Mylton Records exec who’d been sent to see to it that our band, Carolina George, signed on the dotted line with the mega record label. At the time, I hadn’t known he’d had ulterior motives—he was in it to take down his piece-of-shit stepfather, Karl Fitzgerald, who’d been the record label’s CEO.

“You don’t actually think my stepfather and Cory Douglas are gonna go down without a fight, do you? After what I took from them?” Anger leaked from the statement.

Royce had undermined his stepfather’s entire criminal organization and tossed him from his wicked thrown. Found evidence of the vile and depraved acts Karl Fitzgerald was championing—serving up a lifestyle of sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll.

No surprise there.

Except he’d taken it to whole new levels. Throwing lavish parties, drugs laid out on a silver platter in front of you, women or men there to entertain, naked and ready.

Only they weren’t willing.

Not present of their own accord.

Forced into servitude.

Indentured to Karl and his seedy empire.

Too many artists were far too happy to take a slide into his perverted playground.

Little did they know they were being photographed. The images used to manipulate Mylton Records’ artists into doing what he wanted. Siphoning from their royalties. Forcing them into amended contracts that completely screwed them. A leash tied around their necks. Call me a judgmental prick, but I knew firsthand most of them deserved it.

Problem was, I’d ended up in some of those pictures, but not because I’d been game to overindulge in what wasn’t mine.

When Royce had struck, presenting the evidence that’d had Karl Fitzgerald and one of his top musicians, Cory Douglas, arrested, I’d struck, too.

Desperate to do something right. But it was dangerous and probably would cost me my life.

Because that empire went so much deeper than anyone knew.

But I didn’t care. Nothing mattered but setting this one thing right.

I’d already lost everything else that mattered to me.

Royce was the only one who knew. The only one I trusted. Him and Kade.

I angled in closer, my tone a low hiss. “And you think they’re not gonna notice what I took from them? You think that’s just gonna slide? You and I both know Karl was nothing but a puppet. A fall guy. And you know that monster sitting up there on his throne playing Master of the World is pissed. You know he’ll do whatever it takes not to be exposed. And if he’s caught onto my trail? Coming back here would be the stupidest thing I could have done.”

Might as well have put up a welcome sign with the way I’d invited them to my doorstep. Drawing them close to the people I wanted them farthest from.

Royce set his hand on my shoulder. “Whether they’re here for you or me, we’re in this together. We just have to play it cool until we make it to trial, you get me?”

I gave him a rigid nod and looked off into the distance when I answered, “Yeah.”

Problem was, how we were actually going to get there. How we could pull this off when everything was against us.

Royce straightened his suit jacket. “Good. We need to get back to the party before someone notices we’re gone.”

“My sister will have your ass.”

He grinned as we started back in the direction of the hotel. “Nah. She asked me to watch over you.”

My brows rose to the sky. “She thinks I need a babysitter?”

“She thinks you’re trouble, that’s for sure.”

A tumble of light laughter rumbled free. “And she thinks you’re gonna be the one to get me out of it? Has she met you?”

He chuckled a dark sound. “Your sister basically told me she supports any and all measures in making sure Karl and Cory go down and go down hard. Think my taking up your back counts.”

He spared me a telling glance. The less my sister knew the better. With the baby coming and trying to throw together a wedding before the trial, she didn’t need the stress or the worry.

“Want justice for her. For your sister. For all of them,” I said.

Karl and Cory had hurt far too many people close to me and it was coming back around.

They say payback is a bitch.

Nah.

She was the motherfucking executioner.

 

 

two

Richard

 

Straightening our suits, Royce and I slipped back through the front doors of the nicest hotel in Dalton, South Carolina.

Dalton was my hometown. Wasn’t much more than a speck on the map. Farms for miles and old friends for days. You couldn’t go anywhere without someone knowing your name.

Which was the reason when I visited, I typically slipped in and slipped right back out. Staying within the safety of the walls of my childhood house. Doing my best to keep under the radar which was kind of hysterical considering the fame our band, Carolina George, was skyrocketing to.

Yeah, that was fuckin’ dangerous, too.

It was no secret I’d been pushing for my band to sign with Mylton Records. What they hadn’t known was the real motive.

They hadn’t known I’d been trying to get closer. On the inside. To infiltrate far above Karl Fitzgerald himself.

Honestly, I didn’t know how to balance this dangerous maneuver with the actual needs of the band who still didn’t know what was going down.

No doubt, now that we were signed with Stone Industries, things were getting ready to change for the band and in a big, big way.

Wanted it.

Fuck.

I wanted it.

For my crew because they deserved it more than any group of people I’d ever met.

Just prayed this mess wasn’t going to silence us before we even had the chance to really start.

Wasn’t ashamed to say that Carolina George was good.

Hell, I’d go so far as to say great, and that wasn’t arrogance rearing its ugly head.

It was just the fact of the matter.

Emily was our lead singer, the girl singing alongside me since she was barely five, always saying wherever I went, she wanted to go, too. Loved that girl to pieces. Thing was, there was zero bias when I said she had the best voice of probably anyone on the scene. Sultry and deep and mesmerizing, and she could write a love song like nobody’s business.

Rhys, our bassist, and our drummer, Leif, were every bit as talented.

Throw me into the mix?

Suffice it to say we wrote some epic shit and we played it even better.

I roughed an anxious hand through my hair. Just didn’t know how to manage both. Being a band and playing this risky game. Being here in Dalton only made it worse, the memories encroaching, suffocating me in the missteps of the past.

Maybe Royce was right. Maybe I was gettin’ paranoid.

Royce shot a pointed glance at my disheveled appearance. “Pull it together, man. You look like you just rumbled with a pit bull in an alley.”

“I wish,” I grumbled, trying to tame my chaotic hair. As disordered as the rest of me.

Sweat beaded on my brow. Adrenaline still sloshing through my veins.

He laughed and patted me on the back. “Pin a smile on that face. Have a fucking beer. Play it cool. That’s your only job from now until the trial. Well, that and standing up at my side when I get married.”

He shot me a smirk.

“Only doin’ that for my sister, man,” I tossed back, teasing the asshole. I’d wanted to rip him a new one when I’d found out he and Emily had been sneaking into each other’s rooms while we’d been on tour.

Didn’t take long to realize he wasn’t using her. That their relationship wasn’t some twisted manipulation like I’d feared.

We climbed the steps out front and headed inside, crossing the lobby back toward the engagement party while we did our best to act like nothing had happened.

I glanced at him. Sober and direct. “Thanks for having my back.”

He squeezed my shoulder. “Absolutely. We’re family now…in every way.”

“You good with that?” It was almost a warning.

He laughed a morbid sound that didn’t have a thing to do with my sister. “Think it’s a little late to turn back now, yeah? We’re in this shit together.”

Tied in a way that neither of us had expected.

“Nope…no turning back. Think we’ve climbed a train there’s no derailing,” I told him.

Voices floated out from the banquet room, lifting above the indie band Royce had organized to play for the event, the party still progressing like not a soul had noticed we’d been gone.

He looked at the watch on his wrist, flashing the ink that twisted out from under the sleeves of his suit jacket. “Shit. Toast is supposed to go down in two minutes.”

I followed him through the main doors of the private room, the sound of the party amplified in volume by fifteen the moment we stepped inside. “Going to find Emily.”

“Yup. Good luck, man.”

He tossed me a look. “Don’t need luck when I’ve got your sister.”

He disappeared into the fray while I hung back at the far wall. Eyes scanning through the faces, every cell in my body on edge. Ready to jump in at a second’s notice.

Town might have been small, but that meant my family knew everyone. The invitations for this party had stretched far and wide.

Piled on top of that were Royce’s guests, the few members of his family he remained close to, plus the members of his band, A Riot of Roses.

Industry people ran amok.

Sebastian Stone, the owner of our new label, Stone Industries. Dude a legend in his own right. The original singer of Sunder who’d retired from the stage to start his own label.

Yeah, Sunder was there, too. All of them and their wives.

Fucking surreal that we were now surrounded by one of the biggest bands in the world, now a part of their world once we’d struck pay dirt after playing live at the ACB awards two months ago.

I rubbed at the nerves at the back of my neck.

God. That felt like a lifetime ago.

My gaze kept skipping through the faces. Searching for anything that might feel off while simultaneously trying to cool my fucking jets.

Round tables filled the enormous room, each of them decorated in pinks and whites and extravagant floral arrangements.

To the left, there was a dance floor over near the band, and a podium for the toasts was set up in the front.

Royce was currently making his way toward it, my sister’s hand wrapped up in his as he led her that way.

True joy broke their faces in these smiles that would be impossible to deny.

A waiter carrying a tray of champagne was passing by, and I took a flute, drained the entire thing, and grabbed another before he had the chance to walk away.

Anything to dull this disorder that wouldn’t settle.

This feeling that something was off.

Something wicked gathering strength in the distance. Encroaching fast.

The band trailed off when Royce got to the podium, and he lifted his glass to the room. “Have a little something I would like to say.”

That was all it took for the conversations to die out as everyone turned their attention to him.

He cleared his throat. “First off, I want to say thank you to everyone for being here to celebrate with us tonight. I know some of you traveled great distances to be here, and for that, we are grateful. Means more than you could know to look out on this crowd and see the people who are most important to us. Ones who we love, and the ones who love us back.”

A round of cheers went up.

Royce glanced at my sister before he looked back out to the crowd.

“Some of you might have questioned the way I came to know Emily.”

His eyes traveled to meet hers, their hands held tight between them.

Royce glanced around. “But I want everyone to know that what I saw in Emily was instant. I saw greatness. I saw beauty. I saw a talent unmeasured.”

His words thickened. “I fell in love with her when I probably shouldn’t have. But the thing is, not loving this girl would be impossible.”

A shock of joy pressed against the anxiety that gripped me by the throat—for my sister—for the fact she’d gotten free. For the truth of what shone in her eyes. It was the only thing I wanted, happiness for those that I loved. The ones I’d do anything for.

Live and die and destroy for.

“You showed me what it was like to live again, Emily,” he continued. “What it was like to love again. You gave me a second chance when I’d thought I’d hit a dead end. Because of you, there is music in my life. There is hope in my spirit. There is love in my soul. You are my everything, and I cannot wait to spend my life with you.”

Happiness radiating from her, my sister reached out and touched his cheek. “I tried my hardest not to fall in love with you, Royce Reed. It seemed crazy, the way I felt when we met. But the thing was, you were sent to make me remember what it’s like to sing. To remind me what it’s like to truly feel and how to fully trust. You helped me remember who I am and who I want to be. And I can’t wait to be that person with you at my side, raisin’ our children together.”

I thought maybe he’d planned to say more, but he was setting his flute aside, wrapping her up, and kissin’ her in a way that was pretty much inappropriate considering the crowd.

No doubt, my poor great aunt Shirley was going to be scandalized by the way the ominous-looking rocker was feasting on my sister right out in the open.

“Get a room!” This from Rhys, our bassist, who was up close to the front.

Our number one heckler.

Royce pulled himself away with a smug grin on his face. “Already got one. Right upstairs. You know where we’ll be if you can’t find us.”

Everyone laughed and cheered.

While I itched.

That same feeling that something was off burned hot across my flesh. Something sticky making me tug at the neck of my shirt.

Suffocating.

Never should have come to this hotel. Too many ghosts lurked in the shadows. Memories I’d tried to bury that just kept getting dredged with every second that passed.

Wouldn’t have shown for anyone else other than Emily and Royce. It wasn’t like there were a whole lot of options in Dalton, though.

My eyes searched, roving over the guests from where I remained standing at the back of the room, readying myself for the attack.

My attention kept moving to where these heavy floor-to-ceiling drapes hung behind where the band was set up.

Area nothin’ but shadows.

Didn’t make a damned difference.

I saw her—saw her hiding at the edge of the crowd, timid and wary, eyes darting around like she wasn’t sure if she belonged there or not.

My guts clenched, and the air punched from my lungs, so hard I might as well have been kicked in the stomach.

No question, she absolutely did not.

She shouldn’t be there.

She couldn’t be.

Uncertainty ran fierce, nothing but a slick of fear that warned this was fucking bad. That I had to get her out of there. Push her far, far away.

What the hell did she think she was doing there?

My teeth gritted, and my feet were moving, unable to stop this frenzy that took me over. I wound through the crowd.

Shouldering through the crush.

Surely I was comin’ off a prick.

But I couldn’t stop.

I was unable to see.

Unable to feel.

My only sense was the destruction that pounded out from the middle of me.

Knew the second she felt me. The way she went rigid, frozen to the spot before her attention whipped my way.

Girl held in shock, like she hadn’t expected to see me there and had expected it all the same.

Guilt and something I didn’t want to recognize clouding her face.

This was dangerous. Two planets orbiting too close. A collision seconds from happening.

Hurt poured from her stare, and that body rocked in recognition.

A fireball that blazed, burning through the air and eating up the oxygen.

Wisps of black hair fell out of the twist and caressed her cherub face.

Defined cheeks pinked and glossy lips parted.

And fuck it all, my stomach twisted in a gnarl of lust.

The girl looked like a fairy made of blown glass.

Gorgeous and fragile and so strong you wondered if she was really made of stone.

Raven eyes stared back while I made my way toward the girl with the most mysterious eyes.

Pupils surrounded by a starburst of crystallized violet and splintering out to a darkened eternity.

Two blinding thunderbolts.

It was like looking into a kaleidoscope that sucked me into the past.

That sucked me into regret.

She wore this flowy floral dress that hit her at mid-thigh, nothing but toned legs and tight, gorgeous body.

Temptation.

Destruction.

My ruin.

Still, I moved for her.

Unable to stop.

She fidgeted, wavered, her attention darting everywhere before she finally made a choice and turned to run.

I chased her out into the lobby.

Bright lights shined from glittering tiered chandeliers that hung from the three-story ceiling. Lighting her up in sparkles and dust.

She rushed toward the main doors.

Her name dropped from my lips in a hiss. Problem was, I didn’t know if it was in anger or pure desperation. “Violet.”